The fanfare of the Clippers’ frenetic offseason is behind us. Baron Walter Louis Davis (Crossroads ’97) has arrived home. Elton Brand is gone. Eric Gordon is the chic pick for Biggest Draft Day Bust…two months after Al Thornton emerged as The Best 2007-2008 Rookie Not Named Kevin Durant. Marcus Camby is pissed. Chris Kaman is German…

So what does it all mean?

It means the Clippers head into the 2008-2009 season with the most elastic of expectations. A healthy and harmonious Clippers team could conceivably match the Clippers 47-win total from 2005-2006. A crippled and dysfunctional Clippers squad would surprise no one if they finished in the Pacific Division cellar.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll try to identify – and address – some unanswered questions.

Item One…Who’s going to pick up the really tough defensive assignments on the wing?

Looking ahead, this is arguably the peskiest and most persistent question for the 2008-2009 Clippers. Defensive flexibility was one of the hallmarks of the Clippers’ 2006 run. On any given night, Mike Dunleavy had the flexibility of assigning Quinton Ross, Cuttino Mobley, or the long Shaun Livingston to the likes of Carmelo Anthony. This allowed the Clips to absorb the defensive risk of Corey Maggette on the opposing wing. It also took a lot of pressure off the Clippers’ back line at a time when Chris Kaman was still struggling to pick up help defense.

However miserable the past couple of seasons have been for the Clippers, they rarely got torched by opposing scorers out on the perimeter. Instead they lost basketball games in a much more workmanlike fashion on the offensive end by a simple inability to score. Even at their nadir during the dark Smushian days of last winter, the Clippers remained, at worst, an average defensive team and, on most nights, measurably better than that.

This year, the Clippers don’t have a lot of choices. Al Thornton will the start the season at small forward. Maybe Thornton will be a quick study; there’s precedence for a steep learning curve. Dominique Wilkins entered the NBA as a clueless perimeter defender. By the time the Hawks came of age in 1985-1986, he was excelling defensively under Mike Fratello. Thornton improved down the stretch last season, but an Anthony-Thornton…even a Maggette-Thornton matchup probably gives you pause.

Cuttino Mobley turned 33 on Labor Day. The durable Mobley, whom John Hollinger once called “The Steve Trachsel of the NBA” – Trachsel was baseball’s consummate innings-eater -- started to show the creaking wear of age last season. Even at his advanced age, Mobley still isn’t the first guy an opposing shooting guard wants to see alongside him at tipoff…but he’s not the last either.

Where does that leave the Clippers?

Scouting reports describe Eric Gordon as a capable man defender. The Clippers would be well-advised to make Gordon’s transformation into a lockdown defender among their first priorities in his development. Because unless Thornton can hone some instincts denying his man the ball – and stopping him once he does -- and unless they install a fountain of youth at the practice facility, the Clippers will be reminded that things actually could’ve been worse these last two years.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

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Comments

The Clippers should be fine, if not much, much better defensively. They added a former defensive player of the year in Marcus Camby to team with Chris Kaman in the front court. So, despite no longer have Q Ross to guard the best wing players, fortifying the inside goes a long way to making a good defensive squad. Just look at what the Nuggets were able to do with three horrific defensive wing players in AI, J.R. Smith and Melo. They were still in the middle of the pact as far as defensive efficiency, mostly due to Camby as well as KMart. Plus, Baron Davis, when motivated (which is key) is a lockdown defender capable of guarding quick point guards as well as larger guards due to his rare combo of upper body strength and speed. And, in all seriousness, don't sleep on Ricky Davis. He's athletic enough to play good defense as well. What this season will come down to is two things. Health being the primary factor. Half of the team is an injury risk. The second factor will be on Dunleavy. How well will he be able to motivate this team? How well will he be able to use the talent that he's been given.

I'm not to familiar with Ricky "Buckets" defensive game, but I've always thought he was more of an gambler on the defensive end (goes for a lot of steals, but if he misses, the other team scores). I think KA is pretty on point with his assessment of the Clip's perimeter defense this year, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Thorton will be able to step his game up. Regarding Cat, I'm not that worried about him. He may have lost a step, but he's still a solid defender. Ah well, C'est la vie... we'll have to wait and see ... can't wait for the season to begin.

On the defensive front, don't forget that BD is hands down superior to Cassell any other Clipper point of the past several years - even Livingston, who was too tall to stop dribble penetration. There was no mention of BD by KA regarding defense. Dribble penetration is a killer and allows for easy baskets.

Gordon should be a solid addition to the perimeter defense.

Marcus Camby? What can you say? Didn't he win defensive player of the year in 2006? Doesn't he block alot of shots?

Isn't Brian Skinner more physical than Josh Powell? Doesn't the new kid, D. Jordan, have the potential to become a good shot blocker? As to Thornton and Kaman, shouldn't they be improved defensively?

KA, are you saying that the departure of Brand and Ross may pose a defensive collapse of the Clippers?

Bottom line, if you can run, shoot, and score, you can take pressure off your defense by reducing opposing fast breaks and making the other team work harder - something the Clips haven't done the past two years.

I'd have to agree with a lot of these posts. The Clippers just went from a good all around defensive team to one that will be anchored by their two seven footers. I believe this is why Dunleavy went out and signed guys like Ricky and JWill, two guys not exactly known for defense, after signing Camby. Dunleavy knows that the Clippers don't have to be the best perimeter defensive team now to be good on that end. This is why Ross became expendable. But if they want to, they still have guys like Mobley and Jason Hart who can come in and provide some good perimeter defense. Clips should be fine defensively. Camby let's them focus more on the offensive side of the ball. At the least, Clips should be a more exciting team.

Any other "I loved that team" sentimentalists glad to see Darius' injury wasn't "career ending"? (screw you portland's pocketbook) Good luck over there with the champs D-miles, prove them wrong/right. subnote: Lakers vs. Celtics rematch delivers a tasty abundance of ex-clippers to root for/judge.

Ah, the Clippers off/pre-season, always a refreshing dose of optimism. Another that-makes-sense-on-paper dandy of a lineup, littered with a patch quilt of talent, potential, and easy-to-root-for guys. How about Tim Thomas as the 8th man of the year? I want to believe it will work too, but we all know the results of 2008-2009 will involve a perspective of concessions and still more hope for the future. Drink it up boys!

I'm not suggesting that there will be a defensive collapse. And I'm also not suggesting that Ross warranted a new contract. All I'm saying is that this is a cause for concern -- something the Clips will have to figure out...and quickly.

With departure of Maggette and Cassell, both huge defensive liabilities, I'm don't think that the Clippers have been thrown into a defensive panic situation with their current group. Ross gave the Clips practically zero offensive production, which made it easier on opponents to defend the Clips and save their energy for offense.

The name of the game is scoring baskets, and the Clips should be infinitely better at that this season. Any on-ball perimeter defensive advantages lost with the departure of QRoss & Livingston will more than be made up for with Camby and Kaman awaiting any would-be scorers in the paint.

I have visions of Baron throwing fast break alley-oops to Al, Baron penetrating and handing off to Kaman for a few easy dunks a game, Baron tossing up some clutch treys, Baron posting up some weak-biyatch point guards, etc... It will all come down to Baron and the freedom he will hopefully be given by Dunce.

Kobe is a bitch and just trying to gain public adoration for 'playing through' a bum pinky. What a ho! Typical of the ratface disingenuous piece o' shit that he is. Not that I play NBA-level basketball, but I broke my shooting hand pinky a few years back and I was able to play with hardly any ill-effects. Didn't affect my shot, passing, catching, etc... it only hurt when it would get inadvertently bumped or hit. Kobe can take his pinky and stick it up his bitch ass!

As many who have already posted, I too look forward to seeing the offensive power we have on the team come to fruition on the court, led by the most dynamic PG in the history of the franchise. And the tandem of Kaman and Camby should bring the team back to the vanguard of rebounding/blocks categories. But the question remains:

Who takes Carmelo, Corey and all the other "really tough defensive assignments on the wing?"

I see Cuttino Mobley volunteering for those assignments for the first half of the season and Dunleavy obliging out of necessity. Cat, despite showing his age last season, doesn't often get lost on defense or pick up quick fouls (the way rookie Thornton did at times). Thornton has the physical tools to be an excellent defender (as did Corey), and he seemed willing enough last year to try on the defensive end. Moving back to the SF position should help. Hopefully that learning curve isn't too steep. Also here's hoping Eric Gordon will provide some NBA defense from the start.

1) Let's identify that the article was about our weak wing defense. I agree, it's questionable at best
2) That being said, our athletic 2-3's should be able to aggressively gamble with our poor man's twin towers protecting the hoop.
3) Can Dunleavy apologize for not playing Singleton and get him back for Skinner or Tim "I played good in one playoff series" Thomas? Singleton was a hustling, selfless rebounding and defensive stud

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PG. B-Diddy can be a strong defender if he commits to it. I feel Dunleavy will help him in this area.

*J-Will: Not real the a strong defender but may catch a steal here and there.

*J-Hart: The more so lock-down PG defender depending on who he is matched up with. This may be when Hart gets his mintues when crunch time defense is needed.

SG Mobley is a solid defender and can often take on some star caliber players. Mobley is very useful in these regards.

*Eric Gordon: Maybe become a better defender if Dunleavy can convince him early to commit.

SF Thorton- Showed signs of being a solid defender has great potential of raising his defensive game.

*Ricky Davis- A strong defender when he is patient, often time tries to go for the steal and its a big win and big loss move at times. It may not be such a big deal since we have a strong interior but lets not make other players jobs harder if we do not have to. But Ricky is a solid defender overall.

One thing that may help us better than trying to develop every player to high level defense is to play strong team defense. The way the Celtics stopped the Lakers once a player tries to attack the team swarms while not being out of complete range of the shooters.

Players like Singleton are a dime a dozen. Ya he was fun to watch and had a nice play here and there, but he's not someone I lose sleep over losing. He's no better than a 9th or 10th man on your team. He hasn't earned a guaranteed spot on the Mavs yet, so relax.

Chris Wilcox sucks too. If he ever did anything worthy of praise, i've never heard of it. He's a guy who get his stats using his athleticism and size. But that doesnt make him a good basketball player. He had Maggette and Miles syndrome-- Too much athlete--not enough brains.

I liked Singleton. He rebounds well and can be a monstrous dunker. But he is a thrid-string player. He wanted to be more during his time here, which is admirable, but he then asked to be traded, which isn't something that should come up from an end-of-the-bench kind of guy, unless he really is talented [insert Jermain O'Neil references if you wish]. But if Singleton really is that talented, someone would have picked him up last year. Instead, he played overseas in Spain. Yes, he is on the roster for the Mavericks, but I'm sure it isn't a gauranteed deal. And should he make it, where does he fit into their rotation? That's right, down deep, deep in the depth chart.

Singleton got hurt while in Spain. No one picked him up in the offseason before, which is why he had to play outside the states in the first place. He is a better rebounder than Thomas, no arguments there. And if Thomas isn't hitting his three's like last season, then there's not much else he provides. That's probably why they acquired Novak.

Yeah, Singleton vs TT is a close call. But when TT hits his 3's, they can be game changers.

For the record, Maggette does lack brains (too many charges, doesn't make good decisions on the break, too many turnovers, gets beat defensively too often for all of his athleticism, gets stripped of the ball too often on drives).

TT and singleton a close call? ONe guy has been a pro for like 10 years and the other guy is having a hard time sticking around in the league for minimum salary. Give me a break.

You're talking about a GREAT role-player (when he's not asked to start, play PF, or play 35 min per game) and a journeyman who has never journeyed that far in terms of NBA accomplishments.

stop falling in love with your own players... Yuta Tabuse was fun to watch as well. If you have 18 roster spots, Singleton would make my team for his nice rebounding ability. But other than that, he's useless.

BTW, I met Yuta at a supermarket about a year ago and told him he should've made the Clippers squad and deserves to be in the league. He said it's been very difficult but he won't stop trying to make it to the NBA anytime soon.

TT vs. Singleton? Singleton is a marginal NBA talent at best. Thomas has had a real career and will continue to... To think otherwise would be to accuse every GM in the league of being a fool.

Thomas has the ability to be great for periods of time, which is a real weapon to have in a bench player. Same with Ricky Davis... They have the ability to come in and change the game, which doesn't mean they'll do it every time, but they could do it enough... Singleton merely had the ability to hold his own. He was a pleasant surprise because expectations on him were so low.

what's wrong with singleton shooting threes? his 3p% is up to par with the best in the league. when we made our run in '06, he was shooting 50% from behind the arc. in shootarounds before games, i would watch him nail several consecutive threes with ease. i'm not saying he should be the focal point of our offense or anything, but what's wrong with letting a shooter shoot?

Shooting 10 of 20 does not make you a 50% 3pt shooter in the NBA. Please dont tell us what he does in practice. Remember, SL used to dominate practices. Wang Zhi Zhi would sink 20 in a row before games, then would launch 10 bricks in a row during gametime. Every NBA player can shoot during practice.

I play from time to time at a local park, both in the gym and outside.
During shoot around I make 85% of the shots I take, that includes 10,12,15,20,23 footers. Now I am not even close to saying im in NBA territory, NO , not by far.Not even close.

Once the game starts and there are defenders with hands in my face That % drops .I can go into brick city, although not often.

So I can understand that part. I read on another site that James Singleton was at a pick up game somewhere and he was hitting 3's left and right.He wasnt even going full speed with the other guys and they said he was pretty amazing.

I wasn't saying Singleton was an All-Star. But unlike Thomas, he understands his role. Tim Thomas is our 7th best shooter on the team. however, when he's in the game, he shoots like he's our #2 option.

I would rather B-Diddy shoot a double teamed 3-pointer than an open TT. Also, if all we want TT to do is shoot, I'd prefer Piatkowski back on the squad. Oh yeah, TT makes over 5.6 million too!!!